Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Hosseini is an Afghan writer - and I say this because his novels have a distinct flavour of Afghanistan. The country me, as a person from India, has never been in touch with. With the lyrical words that he weaves his story with, Khaled convincingly portrays Afghanistan before our eyes.

As the story unfolds, Khaled introduces you to aspects of Afghanistan - aspects that one can relate to. It is not only the geographical makeup of Afghanistan but also the social setting which Khaled brings forth us.

The element of friendship is strong in both of his books that I have read - 'The Kite Runner' and 'A thousand splendid suns'. Friendships that span different ages and different periods in time - and friendships that endure a thousand tribulations.

The first book speaks about casteism while the second has the status of women in the Afghan society. Hence, Khaled interleaves a story with the social setup of Afghanistan.

What both these books have strongly is the Afghan-Taliban dispute. The turning point in both the tales arrives during the advent of Taliban in Afghanistan and the resultant war. Both the stories undergo a sea change when the war begins and this does not fail to move you. And it surely gives the reader a fair idea of the intensity of impact the war has had on the citizens of the country.

It is the success of the writer whose prolific talent enables him to realize Afghanistan of his childhood and adolescence before our eyes!